Steal Your Pain
by Moonchild10
Summary: When she becomes homesick, Starfire decides to return to Tameran, leaving a very confused Robin to ponder his feelings for her.


Disclaimer: You know.

Yay! Enjoy! It's not my best, but I don' t think it's horrible at least.

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Robin stared straight ahead.

"_Don't say anything." _he told himself. _"You're going to make it harder for her. Don't be so selfish. This isn't about what you want. It's about what she wants. She's homesick. She doesn't feel like she belongs on Earth. She wants to go back to Tameran. Just suck it up and deal with it.' _

They were standing in front of the tower, and the wind was cold, but no one seemed to be paying attention to this. They were all preoccupied by other things.

"I am going to miss you all, friends," Starfire said, thus jerking Robin out of his thoughts. He wanted to reply, but he was afraid of what he might say. He slowly crossed his arms.

"We'll miss you too Starfire," Beast Boy said quietly.

"Yeah Star. It's not gonna be the same without you around," Cyborg said.

"I have to agree with Cyborg. It won't be the same. It'll be a lot quieter, but you're a member of the team. It's going to seem kind of...empty," Raven said.

Wow, Robin felt pathetic. Even Raven was showing emotion, and here he was just standing there like an idiot. Everyone was telling her how much they would miss her, and he wasn't saying anything. He wanted to, god how he wanted to. But could he put it into words? Why was this so hard?

"You OK?" Beast Boy's voice asked from somewhere in the real world, and Robin returned there.

"Uh, yeah," he said. Everyone was looking at him strangely. "What?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads as if they didn't want to be the person to point out that he was being stupid. Why couldn't he just say something?

There was a brief silence.

"I must go," Starfire said with a tone of finality in her voice. She stepped forward and gave Raven a hug, then Cyborg, then Beast Boy. When she stopped at Robin, she just stared at him for a moment. When she hugged him, Robin was reluctant to hug her back, because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to let go, but he did anyway. _"This is the way it has to be."_ A few moments passed.

"Friend Robin?" Starfire asked. Robin became conscious to the fact that he was still hugging her and released her with amazing anime-style whooshy speed, his hand flying to the back of his head.

"Uh, I'm gonna miss you Star," he said, successfully releasing most of his confusing thoughts into one understandable sentence.

"I will miss you too," she said, which made Robin feel worse for some reason.

She turned away from him, floating up into the air.

"Farewell friends. Perhaps I shall come back for a visit?" she asked hopefully. They all nodded vigorously. She nodded back. "Goodbye."

She flew off. The other four stood there waving their goodbyes for a moment, and then went inside. Robin had a strange hollow feeling in his stomach.

Everyone was extremely quiet. They all went and sat down on the sofa, turning the TV on but not really watching.

"It's not the same," Beast Boy said finally. Raven and Cyborg agreed. Robin just sat there, just staring off stonily into space.

"You OK man?" Cyborg asked. Robin realized that this was directed toward him, and nodded slowly.

"Sure," he said. He stood up. "I'm gonna go...um...I don't know," he muttered, heading off down the hallway. The others exchanged glances.

Robin stopped at the door of Star's room. He stared at the door blankly for a moment.

Why hadn't he been able to say it? Why hadn't he just told her he didn't want her to leave?

Because he was being a 'good friend.' He was supporting her needs, he was...

He was denying his emotions, that was what he was doing. But he needed to focus on other things. He couldn't let emotions get in the way of being a Titan, could he?

He started walking again.

Robin pushed the trapdoor out of the way and climbed up onto the roof, walking over to the edge and staring at the cold bay. The moon was a cold rippling orb in the water. He sighed.

Why was it so obvious and yet so hard to see? He could keep denying how he felt about her forever, but he couldn't escape inside. He hadn't wanted her to go, and he hadn't been able to admit it to her face. Why? Because he had been denying so many things for so long that it became customary for him to leave things under the surface. She had just barely left and he already missed her desperately. He was already an emotional wreck. He was pathetic.

Robin stared angrily at the water. There was a strange feeling about when he thought of her, besides the fact that he missed her. Something else, something familiar, yet so distant to him...

He loved her, that's what it was. And he had been too blind to notice it before. And now it was too late to tell her. He had always known that he was attracted to her, but _love_? This was almost too much. He considered jumping for a moment, and then shook the thought off and slapped himself mentally. That wouldn't solve anything.

Suddenly, Robin heard a noise behind him and whipped around. Someone was sitting on the other side of the roof. Even in the dark, the form was unmistakable.

"Starfire?" he asked out loud, sounding a bit startled and starting across the roof. She turned around and looked at him, and he stopped walking and just stood there.

"Robin?" she asked, standing abruptly. "I was...merely thinking before I began my journey. I apologize for frightening you."

"That's OK, you didn't," Robin said, almost grinning his face off at the fact that she was still here, at least for a moment. They stood there looking at each other for a moment.

"I shall go now," Starfire said, something like reluctance in her voice. She turned around and lifted off of the roof. Robin hurried forward and grabbed her arm.

"Wait!" he said. Starfire turned her head and looked at him, a bit startled.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I...I need to talk to you," Robin said clumsily. Starfire landed back on the roof and Robin let go of her arm.

"Star, you can't go," he said, embarrassed at how desperate his voice sounded.

"Are you able to tell me the reason?" she asked, looking at him intently, waiting for his answer. Robin scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, you see...the thing is...I...well...uh...I know I probably sound pretty stupid and I just keep rambling on but I don't think I can say it wow I sound like an idiot I-" he began. Starfire covered his mouth.

"What are you trying to say, Robin?" she asked patiently, and then dropped her hand.

"Well, the thing is...I...I don't know quite how to say this, so I'll just...say it. Star, I...I love you," Robin said quietly. Starfire stared at him for a moment. "I don't...I don't know what it's called on Tameran, and I don't know why I feel this way, but I do."

Starfire smiled. "We call it glorb."

"Well...I glorb you then," Robin said with a slight smile, really hoping he wasn't going to faint.

"Robin, I love you too," Starfire said, surprising him, but a ridiculous grin spread over his face. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then Starfire stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Robin hugged her back. A few minutes later they stepped apart. There was a silence.

"So...um...are you going to stay here?" Robin asked nervously.

Starfire kissed him. His mask bulged for a moment, and then he calmed down and returned the gesture.

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Well, that was my first R/S. I must say I enjoyed writing that.


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